Control (HC version)

Control (PB version)

Catalyst (Control #2)

Among the Shadows: 13 Stories of Darkness & Light

Monday, January 20, 2014

This past Saturday, I had my first book signing at my local bookstore, the Bookworm Omaha! It was part terrifying and part wonderful, but 100% amazing!

I had a local bakery, Jones Brothers, make a few dozen book-themed cupcakes. There were none left at the end. I guess nobody obeyed the command written on the icing. ;)

And here I am reading a passage from my book and trying desperately not to stumble over my words. Eep. I was also dorky enough to wear a dress that matched the cover of my book, because I'm a little nutters like that.

I was so nervous about writing typos in the books when I was signing and forgetting names...I mean, SO nervous. Even though there were a sea of friendly faces, with several of my old writing friends from the Seven Doctors Project there, as well as new writing friends (Rainbow Rowell, a fellow Omaha author, stopped by too. So sweet!)

But at the end, it went pretty smoothly. Thanks so much to Ellen Scott, the children's department manager who made everything run so nicely!

A few things to mention since my last week. Bear with me! Debut month is a bit crazy, and in some ways, these blog posts are like a diary for me. :)

I did a brief NPR interview at our local KIOS station this week. Here's proof:

It should also say "I shamelessly take buttons from nonprofit organizations"

That was fun! Steve Langan (a fine poet and the founder of our writing group, The Seven Doctors Project) and I were discussing the project and the upcoming reading and fundraiser. Michael Lyon, our local NPR radio host has a voice like...how shall I put this...butter that's been melting ever so slightly on a sunny English countryside...which sort of made it hard to concentrate. :)

So if you're in Omaha on Tuesday January 21st, stop by the Slow Down at 7 PM. The most recent students in the group will be reading their work. I'll also be reading from my book as well as a little teaser from CODE (Control #2), and selling books to help benefit the writing group, which is now has nonprofit status!

On that morning of the 21st at 9:15 AM, Steve and I will be on the KMTV's the Morning Blend discussing the Seven Doctor's Project as well. My first TV appearance!

And at around 5:30 PM, we'll be on the Tom Becka show on AM 1290 KIOL. Busy day!

And finally, my book was reviewed in the Omaha World Herald on Sunday! The review is seriously, radioactively, adverb-necessitatingly glowing (thank you Carol Bicek for reviewing and supporting YA fiction!) And as an aside, care to see a godawful picture of me? I mean, like, "I'm eating rotten worms" bad? Check it out on the link above. Now I never need to worry about bad photos of me being published on the internet, because IT'S ALREADY HAPPENED. Oh joy.

But honestly, I don't actually care that much because wow. What a fantastic review.

And finally, I just have to admit that I wrote this post while watching The Empty Hearse (for the third time) — Season 3, Episode 1 of Sherlock. Yes, I'm unabashedly SHERLOCKED. Watson isn't so bad, either. I'm hooked, people. It is the only show I'm watching right now. I've no heart and no time for anything else. Especially when I should be revising, not watching the tele. So...are you Sherlocked too? For those that are, here are the otter/Sherlock/hedgehog/Watson photos, because they always deserve to be shown again.

Have a happy Monday everyone! So...if you're not Sherlocked, then what's your entertainment poison these days?

Monday, January 13, 2014

I was watching Skyfall recently (I can't get enough of Adele's theme song!) and was troubled about the scene when Javier Bardem takes a prosthetic out of his cheek and claims that hydrogen cyanide corroded his face away, without killing him. My Medical Mondays alarm bells went off, and after a quick google search, found the truth:

Also, if you haven't read it, Jessica did an extremely eye-opening and honest blog post about managing expectations. What happens when you get a huge (as in, eye-bulging huge) deal for a book series and it doesn't hit the NY Times bestseller list? It's a very honest blog post worth reading.

I was featured in the Breaking In section of Writer's Digest!

So how is your January going? Still sticking to your resolutions so far? Do you tend to pick apart plot holes in the movies you watch, or just brush aside belief for the sake of the experience?

Monday, January 6, 2014

Wow, what crazy few weeks I've had. There was family over, and snow, and winter holidays with the kids...oh, and a minor event of my book being released on December 26th.

So what does a debut author do on the day that her book releases?

Well, have a debauchery-filled party, complete with gnomes, champagne, Senators in pink wigs, and lots of wild turkeys running around, of course! Also visiting every bookstore in a 100 mile radius and taking tongue-wagging photos next to them and asking strangers to buy them!

Yes. I'm kidding.

Being the day after Christmas, I opted to hang out with my family and parents. I did have some champagne. :) But I didn't even visit a bookstore, because honestly? I was so nervous about it! So I sent my hubby and Dad. And they verified that yes, my book was in the bookstore. and Yes, people were actually buying it.

A few days later, I went in to the Bookworm (our local Indie) to sign a few books I'd promised to those that had preordered, and I saw this:

Yes, I almost yelped for joy when I saw this! (Rainbow is a fellow Omaha author.)

So now it's January, and I should be super relaxed right?

Well, erm, no. I actually have a huge revision deadline by the end of the month and it's been a lot of work. So I'll be blogging sporadically and doing a few posts over at the League of Extraordinary Writers. But if you see me in person and I look like I'm still in my pajamas, you'll know why.

Here are some events coming up, in case you're in Omaha:

Launch/signing/party at the Bookworm on January 18th between 2-5 PM. I'd love to see you there!

Poetry reading and book selling/signing at the Slowdown on January 21st at 7 PM for the Seven Doctors Projects.

Book reading and selling/signing at Metropolitan Community College, January 30th at 7 PM.

Have a great January, guys! And thank you again for your support with CONTROL!

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